Okay, I'm gonna try to finish
up here in Acts chapter 13 As Paul closes out this sermon here
in Antioch. I'm taking the title from verse
48 I want to spend most of my time here on verse 48 Ordained
to eternal life and it comes from verse 48 and when the Gentiles
GENTILES. THESE GENTILES WERE ONE TIME
WITHOUT GOD, WITHOUT HOPE, WITHOUT CHRIST IN THIS WORLD, JUST LIKE
YOU, JUST LIKE ME BY NATURE. GENTILE, WITHOUT GOD, WITHOUT
CHRIST. WHEN THEY HEARD THIS, WHEN THEY
HEARD THAT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS HELD FORTH AS THE LIGHT OF
SALVATION, THEY WERE MADE GLAD. THEY WERE MADE GLAD. THAT IS,
THEY REJOICED IN THE MESSAGE. AND NOT ONLY WERE THEY REJOICING,
THEY WERE GLAD, BUT THEY GLORIFIED. THEY GLORIFIED THE WORD OF THE
LORD. REMEMBER, THE WORD OF THE LORD
IS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. IT'S THE WORD PERSONIFIED. THE
WORD THAT WAS MADE FLESH. THEY WERE GLAD AND THEY GLORIFIED. NOT THE FLESH, THE WORD. THE
WORD OF THE LORD. AND, YOU MEAN THERE'S MORE? AND
AS MANY AS, I LOVE THAT STATEMENT, AS MANY AS WERE ORDAINED, THAT
IS APPOINTED TO SALVATION, TO ETERNAL LIFE, THEY BELIEVED.
WHO'S GOING TO BELIEVE THIS MESSAGE? WHO WILL BELIEVE THIS MESSAGE?
Those who are ordained to eternal life. Now what a glorious blessed
truth the Lord gives unto his people. Our salvation is not
left up to us. Our salvation is all by the sovereign
will of God. It's all by the almighty power
of God. It's all by the effectual grace
of God. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of his power. I trust you heard the radio broadcast
this morning. This is the grace of God that
brings us to the Lord Jesus Christ. This same word here in verse
48, You see that word ordained? This
same word, ordained, is translated in other places appointed and
determined. That is, this sounds a clear
note that our salvation is of the Lord. That is, it's appointed
unto us to believe, and it's determined for us to believe,
not left to fate, chance, or luck. by grace, by the grace
of God. Grace for grace. The law was
given by Moses, but grace and truth came by the Lord Jesus
Christ. Of his fullness have all we received
grace for grace. From eternal election of grace
till final glory, all salvation is God's doing, his will and
his purpose. OF HIS OWN WILL BEGAT HE US WITH
THE WORD OF TRUTH. HE WORKS ALL THINGS AFTER THE
COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL. GOD WILL HAVE MERCY. YES, HE
WILL. WE READ THAT IN ROMANS 9, ROMANS
8, BUT HE WILL HAVE MERCY UPON WHOM HE WILL. THAT IS, WE PREACH
SOVEREIGN MERCY, SOVEREIGN GRACE. THE LORD WILL BE GRACIOUS. BUT
HE IS SOVEREIGN IN HIS GRACE. WHEN A GUILTY SINNER HEARS THIS
GOOD NEWS AS IT DID WITH THESE FOLKS, IT WILL MAKE HIM GLAD. THIS IS A FAITHFUL SAYING AND
WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION THAT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST CAME TO
SAVE SINNERS. SOME FOLKS GOT GLAD, AS IT SAYS
THERE, THEY WERE GLAD, BUT THE OTHER FOLKS GOT MAD. The Jews stirred up this whole
city. Men and women, chief men, raised
persecution. Some got glad, and some got mad. Who makes you to differ? It's
God that makes the difference. We're going to see this response
all the way through our study in the Book of Acts when Paul
and others go preaching persecution. Two things usually happen, riot,
REVIVAL. RIOTS AND REVIVAL. SOMETIMES
THEY HAPPEN AT THE SAME TIME SIMULTANEOUSLY. NOW WE COME BACK
TO VISIT THIS LAST PART OF THIS CHAPTER. PAUL AND BARNABAS HAD
CLEARLY PREACHED THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST TO THESE
JEWS IN THIS SYNAGOGUE. READ VERSE 38 AND VERSE 39 OF
ACTS 13. BE IT KNOWN UNTO YOU, THEREFORE,
MEN AND BRETHREN, THAT THROUGH THIS MAN IS PREACHED UNTO YOU
THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. THAT'S A CLEAR MESSAGE. IN CHRIST
IS THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. AND BY HIM ALL THAT BELIEVE ARE
JUSTIFIED, CLEARED OF ALL GUILT, FROM ALL THINGS, WHICH YOU COULD
NOT, COULD NOT BE JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW OF MOSES. IN THIS CROWD
THAT DAY IN THE SYNAGOGUE WERE SOME GENTILES, and were some
Jews, some religious Gentiles, and some religious Jews. And
among this crowd, both Jew and Gentile, were some of God's elect,
who were chosen to salvation, who must hear the gospel of the
grace of God, and they were blessed to believe it. Remember our Lord
said, my sheep, they hear my voice, I know them and they do
follow me. Now, in verse 42 and verse 43,
the Jews, when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the
Gentiles, they sought that these words might be preached to them
the next Sabbath day or between the two Sabbath days. And when
the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious
apostolates followed Paul and Barnabas. Who, speaking to them,
persuaded them to continue to abide constant in the grace of
God or in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. WHO HEARD PAUL AND BARNABAS PREACH
THE GOSPEL, HOW GOD SAVED SINNERS, WANTED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST AND SALVATION FROM ALL SIN AND THE JUSTIFICATION
FROM SIN BY THE GRACE OF GOD AND THE FORGIVENESS OF ALL SIN
THROUGH THE REDEEMING BLOOD OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. DO YOU
REMEMBER THE SCRIPTURE IN EPHESIANS CHAPTER 1, IN WHOM WE HAVE RECEIVED,
IN WHOM WE HAVE REDEMPTION, TO HIS BLOOD THE FORGIVENESS OF
SINS ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE. WHAT WAS PAUL'S
CONTINUED MESSAGE THE LAST PART OF VERSE 43? HE PERSUADED THEM
TO CONTINUE IN THE GRACE OF GOD. CONTINUE IN THAT GRACE. TAKE
YOUR BIBLE AND TURN TO ACTS CHAPTER 20. When Paul left the elders
at Ephesus, he said basically the same thing. Salvation starts
with grace, continues with grace, and it will consummate in grace.
Acts 20 verse 32, and now brethren, I commend you to God to the word
of his grace. which is able to build you up
and to give you inheritance among all them that are sanctified."
It's the grace of God that we're to continue in. It's the grace
of God that saves us. Turn back to Acts chapter 15,
verse 11, Acts 15, verse 11. But we believe, but we believe
what? What do we believe? We believe
through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved. What did Paul and Barnabas tell
those folks to do? And what did they continue to
preach unto them? To continue in the grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now what's going to happen? WE
GO FROM SATURDAY TO SATURDAY. THROUGH THAT WEEK, PAUL AND BARNABAS
CONTINUING WITH PREACHING AND PREACHING SALVATION THROUGH THE
GRACE OF GOD. AND ON THAT NEXT SATURDAY, THE
NEXT SABBATH DAY, VERSE 44, THE NEXT SABBATH DAY CAME ALMOST
THE WHOLE CITY TOGETHER TO HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD. BUT WHEN
THE JEWS SAW THE MULTITUDES, THEY GOT JEALOUS. THEY SAID,
WE'RE GOING TO LOSE OUR CROWD. WE'RE GOING TO LOSE OUR CHURCH
MEMBERSHIP. OUR SYNAGOGUE MEMBERSHIP IS GOING TO DWINDLE. THEY SAID,
WE CAN'T HAVE THAT. AND THEY SPAKE AGAINST THOSE
THINGS WHICH WERE SPOKEN BY PAUL AND SPOKEN BY BARNABAS, CONTRADICTING
WHAT THEY SAID. THEY SAID SALVATION IS NOT BY
THE GRACE OF GOD. THEY SAID SALVATION IS BY THE
WORKS OF THE LAW. And then they started blaspheming.
Now you know what blaspheming is, don't you? It's speaking
evil. They were speaking evil about
Paul and about Barnabas. They were trying to discredit
them personally, and certainly they were trying to discredit
their ministry, and Paul and Barnabas received persecution
over what? the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The whole city came to hear the
word of the Lord. Now, wouldn't that be a marvelous
thing in our day? In the cities that have so much
unrest right now, wouldn't it be something if they all came
to hear the word of the Lord? GOD'S ABLE. HE'S ABLE TO BRING
THAT ABOUT IF IT WAS PLEASING FOR HIM TO DO SO. WHAT A MARVELOUS
SIGHT TO SEE THE CITY GATHERED TO HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD.
AND I TRUST THAT'S WHY WE'VE COME HERE TODAY, TO HEAR A WORD
FROM GOD AND TO WORSHIP HIM, THE TRUE AND LIVING GOD, AND
THIS IS ETERNAL LIFE. TO WORSHIP THE TRUE AND LIVING
GOD. THIS IS ETERNAL LIFE. YOU REMEMBER WHAT CORNELIUS SAID
TO PETER? Remember in Acts chapter 10,
we're all here to hear all things, commanded thee of God, commanded
thee of God. The only place a sinner will
truly worship is at the throne of the absolute sovereign God,
at the only place. What you believe about the gospel
is determined by who you believe. DID YOU GET THAT? WHAT YOU BELIEVE
ABOUT THE GOSPEL IS DETERMINED BY WHO YOU BELIEVE. IF YOU BELIEVE
THE TRUE AND LIVING GOD, YOU BELIEVE HIS GOSPEL. YOU BELIEVE
HIS MESSAGE. WHEN THESE UNBELIEVING JEWS SAW
THE INTEREST IN THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, THEY WERE
JEALOUS AND IMMEDIATELY TRIED TO DISCREDIT PAUL AND BARNABAS
SPEAKING EVIL ABOUT SALVATION THAT'S OF THE LORD. Human nature
has not changed since Adam's ruin, since Adam's fall. The
carnal mind is still enmity against God, not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be. The natural man received but
not the things of the Spirit of God. BECAUSE THEY'RE FOOLISHNESS
TO HIM. IT TAKES THE POWER OF GOD TO
SHOW US THAT IN THE GOSPEL IS THE WISDOM AND GLORY AND POWER
OF GOD TO FORGIVE SINNERS IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. REMEMBER
OUR LORD SAID, OUT OF THE HEART? YOU REMEMBER THOSE PHARISEES
COMPLAINED, YOUR DISCIPLES ARE EATING FOOD WITHOUT WASHING THEIR
HANDS. I MEAN, UGH! OUR LORD SAID IT. IT'S NOT WHAT GOES IN THE MOUTH. is the problem. What comes out
of the heart, that's the problem. That's the problem. Remember
what the Lord said? Out of the heart proceeds evil
thoughts which bring forth evil deeds. And it's nothing but rebellion
against God Almighty. Now, Paul and Barnabas, their
ministry's been discredited. They spoke evil things about
them and about the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. What will
Paul and Barnabas do? Will they compromise their message
so as to not to offend? Should they change their message
so we can all just get along? Verse 46, then Paul and Barnabas
waxed bold. They waxed bold, that is, we're
not backing up, we're not moving, we're not budging, and said it
was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken
to you, you Jews. The gospel was to the Jew first
and then to the Gentile. BUT SEEING THAT YOU PUT IT FROM
YOU." NOW, YOU'RE THE PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM'S NOT WITH THE GOSPEL.
THE PROBLEM'S IN MAN'S FALLEN, SINFUL NATURE. YOU WILL NOT HAVE
IT. YOU REMEMBER PILATE BROUGHT FORTH
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND PRESENTED HIM TO THAT MOB THAT DAY? AND
THEY, PILATE SAID, BEHOLD YOUR KING. YOU REMEMBER WHAT THEY
SAID? WE DON'T HAVE ANY KING, BUT CAESAR, AWAY WITH HIM, CRUCIFY
HIM. WE HAVE NO KING. But Caesar,
what did Paul and Barnabas do? They waxed bold and continued
to preach the word of the Lord. They didn't compromise. They
didn't back down. They were emboldened to preach
grace, grace, grace, and more grace. We believe through the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved. God saved
us according to his own purpose and grace, given us in Christ
before the foundation of the world. It was necessary that
the gospel be preached to the Jews, because our Lord said,
go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,
Jew and Gentile. It was necessary. But among all
humanity, the Lord has a people. He has an elect out of every
tribe, kindred, nation, and heaven, called his sheep, called his
jewels, called his elect, called his chosen, who will hear the
message and who will bow to the Lord Jesus Christ. The faith
of God's elect loved the truth of the gospel. The self-righteous
Jews willfully rejected the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He
came unto his own, we read it a moment ago, he came unto his
own, and his own, they did not receive him. They said, away
with him, we have no king. We don't want you as king. And
then, verse 46, the apostle says, you judge yourself unworthy of
everlasting life. THEY WERE GOING ABOUT TO JUSTIFY
THEMSELVES AND REJECTED THE VERY MEANS THAT GOD ORDAINED FOR THEIR
SALVATION. THE JEWS WOULD NOT HAVE THE GOSPEL
OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, SO THEY TURNED TO THE GENTILES.
VERSE 47, FOR SO HATH WE TURNED TO THE GENTILES. THE LAST PART
OF VERSE 46, FOR SO HATH THE LORD COMMANDED US, THE LORD COMMANDED
US TO PREACH CHRIST, TO HOLD HIM FORTH AS THE LIGHT OF SALVATION. for Jew or Gentile, that thou
shouldest be for salvation to the ends of the earth." There
is salvation in no other. You remember Peter and John before
that council? Remember the man was crippled,
was healed, and they said, by what means and whose name did
you do this? Peter said, Here it is, neither
is there salvation in any other, for there's no other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Christ is the
light of salvation. He says it. I'm the light of
the world. He that follows me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. These Jews were so proud of their
religious tradition, they deliberately chose destruction of their soul
rather than bow to the absolute lordship of Jesus Christ. They wouldn't have it. Paul didn't
quit preaching. They went preaching because they
were commanded to set forth the Lord Jesus Christ. We preached
not ourselves, but Christ Jesus, the Lord. And he is the only
savior in all the world. That's why he said, look unto
me and be saved all the ends of the earth. For I am God and
there is none other. I'm the only just God and savior. Down to verse 48. And the Gentiles,
when they heard this, when they heard this, what did they hear? They heard that Christ was salvation.
They heard that salvation was by the grace of God. They heard
that there was forgiveness of sin through the redeeming blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. When they heard the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ, they were made glad. and that glorified
the word of the Lord. Paul and Barnabas kept on preaching
Christ, not as a way of salvation, but as the way of salvation. Our Lord said this, I am the
way, the truth, the life, right? No man comes to the Father, but
by and through me, me, me alone. when they heard this. Now who
made these people here to differ? Why did some hear and were made
glad, and why did some hear the same message and got right mad? YOU TO DIFFER FROM ANOTHER? WHAT
DO YOU HAVE THAT YOU DID NOT RECEIVE? IT'S THE GRACE OF GOD
THAT MADE US TO DIFFER. THE ONLY REASON YOU LOVE AND
BELIEVE THE GOSPEL IS BECAUSE GOD CROSSED YOUR PATH WITH THE
GOSPEL AND HAS DONE A WORK OF GRACE IN YOUR HEART AND CAUSED
YOU TO LOVE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AS EVERYTHING IN SALVATION ALONE. WHEN THE GENTILES HEARD THE GOOD
that the Lord Jesus Christ came to save sinners. They were given
faith as the gift of God to believe the gospel, and they worshiped
the Lord Jesus Christ. As it says there, they glorified
the word of the Lord. That's worship. They glorified,
they worshiped the Lord Jesus Christ as God. That's what they
did. They said, he's my God and he's
my savior. They worshiped him as God. And, now I want you to get a hold of this
statement here. And as many as were ordained to eternal life
believe. Preacher, what does that mean?
That means exactly what it says. Those who believe the gospel
do so because God determined and appointed that to happen. It's all of God, it's all of
His grace. As many as were ordained to eternal
life. Let me read this to you again.
Don't turn, let me just read it to you. He came unto His own,
His own received Him not. But as many as received Him,
to them HE GAVE POWER, AND THE WORD THERE
IS RIGHT OR PRIVILEGE TO BECOME SONS OF GOD, EVEN TO THEM THAT
BELIEVE ON HIS NAME, AND THEY DO SO BECAUSE THEY WERE BORN
OF GOD, NOT OF THE WILL OF THE FLESH, NOT OF THE WILL OF MAN.
THEY BELIEVED THE GOSPEL BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN BORN OF GOD. WHOSOEVER
BELIEVETH THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, HE'S BORN OF GOD. HE'S BEEN BEGOTTEN
OF GOD. WE ONLY BELIEVE THE GOSPEL ACCORDING
TO THE WORKING OF HIS MIGHTY POWER. NOW, LET'S TURN TO EPHESIANS,
CHAPTER 1. I'LL SHOW YOU THAT. AND THE POWER
THAT IT TAKES TO BELIEVE THE GOSPEL IS THE SAME POWER IT TAKES
TO RAISE A DEAD MAN FROM THE GRAVE. He says, verse 17, the God of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of glory, may give unto you the
spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him, the
eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know
what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory
of his inheritance in the saints and what is exceeding greatness
of his power to us who believe, comma, according to the working
of His mighty power. Comma, which He wrought in Christ
when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right
hand in heavenly places are above all principality and power and
might and dominion and every name that is named not only in
this world but in the world to come and that which is to come.
So we only believe the gospel because God raised us from the
dead. YOU HATH EQUICKENED WHO WERE DEAD. AND THE FRUIT OF THAT
IS WHEN YOU HEAR THE GOSPEL, YOU BELIEVE IT AS IT IS IN TRUTH,
THE WORD OF GOD THAT EFFECTIVELY WORKETH IN YOU THAT BELIEVE. NOW, LET'S LOOK AT A COUPLE PLACES
HERE. TURN TO I THESSALONIAN CHAPTER
1. I THESSALONIAN CHAPTER 1. As many as were ordained to eternal
life believed. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse
4, knowing brethren beloved your election of God. Well, how do
you know anything about God's eternal election? When he chose
the people unto salvation. For our gospel came not unto
you in word only, but in power and in the Holy Ghost. IN MUCH
ASSURANCE, AS YOU KNOW WHAT MANNER OF MEN WE WERE AMONG YOU, AND
YOU BECAME FOLLOWERS OF US AND OF THE LORD, HAVING RECEIVED
THE WORD IN MUCH AFFLICTION." AND HERE'S HIS JOY, JOY IN THE
HOLY SPIRIT. NOW TURN OVER TO 2ND THESSALONIANS,
2ND THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 2, VERSE 13. WE ARE BOUND TO GIVE THANKS.
Second Thessalonians 2, 13. We are bound to give thanks always
to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord. Now, when did God
start loving his people? He loved them with an everlasting
love, hadn't he? There never has been a time when
God didn't love his people in Christ. Nothing can separate
us from the love of God, which is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved
of the Lord, because God chose you to salvation. God chose you unto salvation. Now, who did the choosing? Our
Lord said, you didn't choose me, I've chosen you. He chose
us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Because God has,
from the beginning, chosen you to salvation. And because he
has chosen you to salvation, what happens to you in time,
in this life? What has happened to you right
now? through the sanctification of
the Spirit. Preacher, what is that? You hath
he quickened who were dead. That's regeneration. That's God
making us a new creature in Christ. Remember our Lord said in Nicodemus,
you must be born again. Except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God. He cannot believe the kingdom
of God. sanctification of the Spirit, and what is the fruit
of that? Read on. And what's the next
part? Believing the truth. You believe
the truth because you've been made a new creature in Christ.
You believe the truth. WHEREINTO HE CALLED YOU BY OUR
GOSPEL TO THE OBTAINING OF THE GLORY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.
YOU SEE THAT? AS MANY AS WERE ORDAINED TO ETERNAL
LIFE BELIEVED GOD. BELIEVED GOD. BELIEVED THE GOSPEL
OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. OUR LORD SAYS THIS. TURN TO JOHN
CHAPTER 6. JOHN CHAPTER 6, VERSE 37. JOHN CHAPTER 6, VERSE 37. All
that the Father giveth me," that's that eternal election, John 6,
37. All that the Father giveth me,
where did he get these people? God from eternity elected a people
and gave them to the surety of the covenant, the Lord Jesus
Christ. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him
that cometh to me, I will never cast him out. Stay right there in the book
of John. Let me show you this scripture. Turn to John 10. John
chapter 10. I mentioned this in the radio program
this morning. JOHN CHAPTER 10, VERSE 22, IT
WAS AT JERUSALEM THE FEAST OF DEDICATION, AND IT WAS WINTER,
AND THE LORD JESUS WALKED IN THE TEMPLE IN SOLOMON'S PORT,
THEN CAME THE JEWS ROUND ABOUT, AND SAID UNTO HIM, HOW LONG DO
YOU MAKE US TO DOUBT? IF YOU BE THE CHRIST, TELL US
PLAINLY. AND HE SAID, I TOLD YOU, I ALREADY
TOLD YOU, AND YOU BELIEVE NOT. YOU BELIEVE NOT THE WORKS THAT
I DO IN MY FATHER'S NAME, THEY BEAR WITNESS OF ME. NOW WATCH
THIS CAREFULLY, VERSE 26, YOU BELIEVE NOT BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT
MY SHEEP, YOU'RE NOT MY PEOPLE. AS I SAID UNTO YOU, MY SHEEP
HEAR MY VOICE, I KNOW THEM, AND THEY FOLLOW ME, AND I GIVE UNTO
THEM ETERNAL LIFE, AND THEY'LL NEVER PERISH. as many as were
ordained to eternal life believe. When they heard this, they were
glad and glorified the word of the Lord. Now this word, ordained
in Acts 13, 48, I'll repeat what I said already. It translated
in other scriptures, appointed and determined, this sounds a
clear note, that your salvation and mine IS OF THE LORD. IT ORIGINATES WITH HIM. GOD WHO
HAS BEGUN A GOOD WORK IN YOU WILL PERFORM IT. FROM ELECTION
OF GRACE TO FINAL GLORIFICATION, SALVATION IS ALL ACCORDING TO
HIS WILL AND HIS PURPOSE. NOW PREACHER, WHY DO YOU HARP
ON THAT? THIS IS THE VERY GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD THAT THIS
RELIGIOUS WORLD HATES AND DESPISES AND DOES NOT BELIEVE. AND YET
IS THE VERY CENTER AND CORE OF THE GOSPEL. IT'S ACCORDING TO
HIS WILL, HIS PURPOSE, HIS GRACE. HERE'S THE SCRIPTURE, EPHESIANS
CHAPTER 1, IN WHOM ALSO WE HAVE OBTAINED AN INHERITANCE, BEING
PREDESTINATED ACCORDING TO THE PURPOSE OF HIM WHO WORKETH ALL
THINGS AFTER THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL, THAT WE SHOULD BE TO
THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY, WHO FIRST TRUSTED CHRIST. 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 verse
9 don't turn back to it But it says in verse 9 for God hath
not appointed you to wrath God has appointed you to obtain salvation
by the Lord Jesus Christ You see what this message is As many
as were ordained, appointed, and determined, whose appointment
is it? God's appointment. Whose determination
is it? God's determination. Whose predestination
is it? We're predestinated to be conformed
to the image of His Son. Don't be afraid of that word,
predestination. It's a Bible word. It's a glorious
truth. God predetermined, God predestinated,
whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified,
and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Romans 8, 29
and 30. Verse 31 says, what shall we
say to these things? I know what this religious world
says, the same things these rebellious Jews said. That's not fair, that's
not right. What shall we say to these things?
Well, if God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared
not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall
he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God the elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even
at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Now look back at Acts 13 verse
48 again. And I'm gonna wear this out. And when the Gentiles heard this,
They were glad and they glorified the word of the Lord. How? How
did they glorify? By faith, by faith, by faith. And as many as were ordained
to eternal life believed. Now let's move on, verse 49. And the word of the Lord was
published throughout all that region, but the Jews stirred
up devout and honorable men and women, chief men of the city,
and raised persecution against Paul, against Barnabas, and they
expelled them. I believe they drove them out
of town. We're gonna see in the next chapter
when Paul was in Lystra that the same rebellious Jews followed
him, picked up stones and stoned him. Some think he died and they
drug him out of the city as a dead man. When you preach the gospel
of the grace of God, God's people get glad and rebels get mad at
God. So what did they do? Verse 51,
they did exactly what the Lord told them to do. They shook the
dust off their feet as a witness against them. Our Lord said in
Luke 9, when he sent those apostles preaching, he said, whosoever
will not receive you, go out of that city and shake off the
very dust from your feet as a testimony against them. Wow. The disciples, verse 52 in closing,
the disciples were filled with joy. Gladness of heart glorified
the word of the Lord. They were filled with joy. We
read a moment ago, you became followers of us and of the Lord,
having received the word in much affliction with joy. OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT. JOY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AND THE DISCIPLES WERE FILLED
WITH JOY. WE JOY IN GOD. YOU REMEMBER ROMANS
CHAPTER 5? I BELIEVE THAT'S WHERE IT SAYS
WE JOY IN GOD. WE JOY IN GOD THROUGH OUR LORD
JESUS CHRIST. Therefore being justified by
faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein
we stand and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. That's
it. That's it. May each of us believe
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and rejoice in him always
and have no confidence No confidence in the flesh. It's all of God. It's all of grace. And it's all
in the Lord Jesus Christ.